Extended life electrical contact means



Nov. 8, 1966 ov 3,284,586

EXTENDED LIFE ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEANS Filed A ril 9, 1965 L V/51V] 0R.M9200: IV. 6'0 1 52 United States Patent 3,284,586 EXTENDED LIFEELECTRICAL CONTACT MEANS Marcius N. Gover, Los Angeles, Calif. (311 PatMel] Road SW., Apt. 12-15, Marietta, Ga.) Filed Apr. 9, 1965, S61. No.446,807 14 Claims. (Cl. 200-49) Generally speaking, the presentinvention pertains to extended life electrical contact means or to anarrangement for protecting electrical contacts in a manner such as togreatly prolong the life thereof. This is true in a broad general sensewith respect to electrical contact means of any of a great variety ofdifferent types. However, one particular application and form for suchextended life electrical contact means which is particularlyadvantageous will be used throughout this application for purposes ofillustration, but should be clearly unde-rtsood to be non-specificallylimiting to such a particular application and form thereof.

The exemplary application and form of such extended life electricalcontact means referred to in the preceding paragraph is in thedistributor of the electrical ignition system of an internal combustionengine where two electrical contact means are employed and areconventionally called distributor points and have been a constant sourceof trouble because of their extremely repetitive usagethat is, the factthat they must open and close rapidly as long as the internal combustionengine is running, and, thus, said distributor \points or contacts tendto become heated during use, resulting in rapid oxidation of the contactsurfaces and, in many cases, resulting in transfer of contact material(usually metal) from one contact surface to the other contact surface,which effectively causes pitting of one the distributor points orcontacts and .a buildup of material on the other one.

Also, the above-mentioned oxidized distributor points or contactsurfaces are much more resistant to the flow of electrical current, and,hence, the contacts become less efficient and interfere withsatisfactory operation of the internal combustion engine, since aninadequate spark will then be available at the spark plugs thereof forproper firing of the air-gas mixture in the combustion chambers of thecylinders of said internal combustion engine. Indeed, ultimately, suchreduction in efficiency of the distributor points may result in amisfiring, or failure to fire, in one or more of the cylinders of theinternal combustion engine which not only leads to greatly increasedloss of power but ultimately to damage to the-engine because of stressesand strains produced by such failure to fire.

Additionally, it should be noted that conventional distributor pointsare open to atmosphere and exposed to various types of foreign materialand contaminants, such as oil and grease, which tend to collect on thedistributor points and also tend to produce an increased electricalresistance across the distributor points to the point of ultimatefailure thereof.

For these and other reasons, conventional distributor points tendtowearr out very rapidly and must be replaced frequently, and it willthe noted that the novel extended life electrical contact means of thepresent invention, when incorporated in a distributor for an internalcombustion engine, virtually completely overcomes and eliminates theabove-mentioned prior art problems since no oxidation of the contactsurfaces or distributor points will occur and also since no foreignmatter or contaminants will be deposited on the distributor points orcontacts. Furthermore, because of the inherent advantages of theextended life electrical contact means of the present invention, it maybe possible to minimize the space, which exists between the distributorpoints or contacts when separated during the operation thereof by therotary cam of the conventional distributor and to consequently shortenthe distance from the contacts to the effective pivot point around whichone of said contacts pivots, thus reducing the length and mass of themoving portion of the complete device. This is primarily made possibleby reason of the inert gaseous atmosphere provided therebetween in thenovel arrangement of the present invention, which, additionally, willtend to minimize any possibility of electrical arcing between thecontact members occurring when they are separated, and this, of course,will reduce heating of the contact surfaces and any burning away and/ortransfer of contact material to an absolute minimum.

All of the above-mentioned factors tend to greatly extend and lengthensthe life of the distributor points, or electrical contact means, so thatit will be unneccessary to replace same frequently in the undesirablemanner of conventional prior art distributor points. It should also benoted that the inert gaseous atmosphere surrounding the contacts maymake a reduction in contact pressure possible, which, in turn, mayeliminate the necessity for an auxiliary return biasing spring means.

With the above points in mind, it is an object of the present inventionto provide novel extended life electrical contact means which maycomprise two electrical contact members, or any desired number thereof,effectively surrounded and enclosed by an envelope means relativelymovably resiliently carrying at least one of said contact members forrelative forcible displacement with respect to at least one other ofsaid contact members positioned therein in order to bring abouteffective electrical engagement and electrical disengagement thereof,and with said contact members all being within said resilient envelopemeans and being surrounded by a non-oxidizing, substantially inertgaseous atmosphere.

It is a further objectof the present invention to provide extended lifeelectrical contact means of the character referred to above, which is ina form effectively comprising distributor points or contact meanscarried by mounting elements and structure substantially functionallyequivalent to the corresponding portions of a conventional distributor,and distributor points carried thereby, of an internal combustion engineand suitable for exact mounting replacement of such conventionalportions of a conventional internal combustion engine distributor.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide extended lifeelectrical contact means having any or all of the features andadvantages referred to herein, either generically or specifically, and/or individually or in combination, and which is of a relatively simple,inexpensive, easy-to-mount, and easy-to-install construction such as tobe conductive to widespread use thereof.

Further objects are implicit in the detailed description which followshereinafter (which is to be construed as exemplary of the presentinvention, but which is not to be considered as specifically limiting itto the exemplary forms described hereinafter), and said objects will beapparent to persons skilled in the art after a careful study of thedetailed description which follows hereinafter.

For the purpose of clarifying the nature of the present invention,several exemplary embodiments thereof, taking the form of distributorpoint assemblies suitable for mounting on a conventional internalcombustion engine distributor, are illustrated in thehereinbelow-described figures of the accompanying single drawing sheetand are described in detail hereinafter.

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional pictorial view of one exemplary embodimentof the present invention wherein it takes the form of a replacementdistributor point assembly embodying the novel long life electricalcontact means of the present invention and adapted to comprise acomplete replacement for a conventional prior art distributor pointassembly of a conventional prior art internal combustion enginedistributor, as shown partially brokenaway in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a top view, partly in elevation and partly in section,illustrating the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 in the mountedrelationship of FIG. 1 with respect to a conventional prior art internalcombustion engine distributor. In this view, the enclosing envelopemeans and the means mounting same at the rear end are shown in sectionsubstantially on a central longitudinal plane in order to clearly showthe interior positioning of the opposed electrical contact means orpoints when the distributor point assembly and the conventional drivingcam of the distributor are in the non-deflected positional relationshipsshown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view, generally similar to FIG. 2, but shows thedistributor point assembly in the positionally deflected relationshipproduced by rotation of the conventional distributor cam from theposition shown in FIG. 2 into the position shown in FIG. 3, whichresults in effectively opening or separating the distributor points orelectrical contact means temporarily.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed view of the remote endportion of the enclosing envelope means of FIG. 2, of the correspondingend portion of the auxiliary exterior biasing return spring, and of thecorresponding interior contact means or distributor points and the rigidlongitudinal support member carrying one of said contact means.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view, taken substantiallyin the direction of the arrows 5-5 of FIG. 2, and illustrates the factthat the rear end of the rigid longitudinal support member is providedwith electrical connector or connection means for connection to a sourceof electric power, such as the hot lead of the ignition system of aconventional internal combustion engine, for example.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, but shows the rear end of the hollowtube comprising the rigid longitudinal support member prior to beingeffectively sealed. This is the condition of said tube when it is usedas an aperture for providing the interior chamber within the enclosingenvelope means with a substantially non-oxidizing and/ or inert gaseousatmosphere, after which it is effectively closed to have an end closureseal such as shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a slightly reduced-size fragmentary elevational view, takensubstantially in the direction of the arrows 77 of FIG. 2, andillustrates one exemplary form of cam follower means.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary three-dimensional view illustrating a slightlymodified form of cam follower means from that shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 4, but illustrates a slightly modifiedform of the outer end of the enclosing envelope means.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary, somewhat diagrammatic view, generally similarto a portion of FIG. 2, but illustrates a slight modification thereofwherein the auxiliary biasing return spring means is eliminated and theinherent resiliency of the enclosing envelope means comprises theeffective biasing return spring means. Also, in this modification, theconfiguration of said enclosing envelope means is slightly varied fromthe form illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view, taken substantially along the planeindicated by the arrows 1111 of FIG. 10 and with certain portions of theapparatus behind the plane of the view and therebelow removed forreasons of drawing simplification and clarity.

Generally speaking, the extended life electrical contact means of thepresent invention may be said to comprise of hollow enclosing envelopemeans provided therein with a first contact member movable therewith anda second fixed contact member non-movable therewith, and adapted to becontrollably engaged and/ or disengaged with respect to said firstcontact member when said enclosing envelope means is forciblyelastically deflected and then released from said forcible elasticdeflection to allow it to return to a normal at-rest position.

The invention is intended to include and comprehend both a normally opencontact arrangement, wherein the forcible elastic deflection of theenvelope means produces electrical engagement of the first and secondelectrical contact members and wherein the release thereof causesdisengagement of said first and second electrical contact members; andto also include the opposite arrangement wherein the forcible elasticdeflection of said enclosing envelope means produces disengagement ofsaid first and second electrical contact members and wherein the releasethereof produces engagement of said first and second electrical contactmembers.

In other words, the present invention, in a broad sense, may be said tocomprise both a normally open extended life electrical contact meansarrangement and a normally closed extended life electrical contact meansarrangement. However, since the exemplary form of the invention chosento illustrate the broad principles thereof comprises a replacementdistributor point assembly, and since such distributor point assembliesare conventionally normally closed, the arrangement illustrated in thefigures comprises a normally closed, extended life electrical contactmeans. However, it should be clearly understood that this exemplary formis illustrative only, and is intended to fully disclose and include andcomprehend such al normally open extended life electrical contact meansa so.

In the exemplary first form illustrated, the invention includes a hollowlongitudinal cantilever type enclosing envelope means, generallydesignated at 11, which is made of electrically conductive metallicmaterial and which is provided at the rear end 11R thereof with rigidelectrically conductive metallic mounting bracket means, generallydesignated by the reference numeral 12, which has a base portion 13fastened at opposite ends by a pair of fastening screw means 14extending through corresponding position-adjusting slot means 15 to theinside top surface portion 16 of the conventional internal combustionengine distributor, generally indicated at 17.

Said mounting bracket means 12 also includes an upstanding clampingportion indicated at 18, which may comprise a pair of laterally spacedfingers or a complete enclosing ring, rigidly clamping the rear end UKof the hollow horizontal cantilever type enclosing envelope means 11 insaid clamping members 18 and in a rigid fixed relationship with respectto the remainder of the mounting bracket means 12 and the completedistributor 17.

However, it should be noted that the front end 11F of the hollowlongitudinal cantilever type enclosing envelope means 11 is not fixed toanything but is freely supported in spaced relationship above the insidetop surface portion 16 of the conventional distributor 17 and is alsospaced above the flat bottom portion 13 of the mounting bracket means 12in what might be termed -a cantilever fashion.

In the exemplary form illustrated, the front end 11F of the enclosingenvelope means 11 is effectively sealed by having a sealing closure cap19 positioned over the initially open end 21 of the tube forming saidlongitudinal enclosing envelope means 11. It will be understood that theinitially open end 21 of the longitudinal enclosing envelope means 11may facilitate interior adjustment of the electrical contact memberswhich will be referred to hereinafter, after which said sealing closurecap 19 may be placed over the open end 21 and sealed into place in anysuitable manner, such as by soldering, brazing, welding, or adhesively,cohesively, or mechanically fastening same in place.

The exemplary first form of the invention is also provided with a rigidlongitudinal support member 22 of electrically conductive metallicmaterial extending through the rear end 11R of the longitudinalenclosing envelope means 11 to a position exterior thereof and therehaving an upwardly bent rear end, as indicated at 22R, which iseffectively provided with electrical connector means, such as generallydesignated at 23, and which is shown as comprising a pair of threadednuts mounted on a corresponding exteriorly threaded portion of said rearend part 22R of said rigid longitudinal support member 22.

The forward end of said rigid longitudinal support member 22 extendsforwardly along and within the interior chamber 24 defined within theenclosing envelope means 11 to a position spaced from the forward endclosure cap 19 thereof and also spaced from any of the side wallportions 115 of the enclosing envelope means 11, and it should be notedthat the portion of said rigid longitudinal support member 22 whichpasses through the rear end 11R of said enclosing envelope means 11,also passes substantially centrally through the clamping means 18 and isfirmly mounted in said position and in electrically insulatedrelationship with respect to the enclosing envelope means 11 by an innersealing plug means 25 of electrical insulating material which is firmlyfastened within the otherwise open rear end 11R of the longitudinalenclosing envelope means 11 and to which said rear end 11R of saidenclosing envelope means 11 is firmly sealed by any suitable means, suchas pressure, or various sealing compounds or the like. Also, in theevent that the clamping means 18 comprises a complete enclosing ring,this may provide an effective seal between the rear end 11R of theenclosing envelope means 11 and said sealing and insulating plug means25.

In the first exemplary form illustrated, a first electrical contactmember 26 is effectively carried by an inside surface part of a sidewall portion 118 of said enclosing envelope means 11 and is inelectrical engagement therewith and, thus, by way of the clampingportion 18 and the bottom portion 13 of the mounting bracket means 12,may be said to be grounded to the electrically conductive top insidesurface wall 16 of the distributor 17, since said distributor 17 isconventionally grounded to an internal combustion engine mounting same.

In the exemplary form illustrated, a second electrical contact member 27is carried by a forward end of said rigid longitudinal support member 22aligned with, opposed to, and facing said first electrical contactmember 26, and normally in electrical engagement therewith except whenforcibly disengaged therefrom by operation of the conventional rotarydistributor cam 28 from the position shown in FIG. 2 into the positionshown in FIG. 3. It will be understood that the contact member 27 iselectrically insulated and isolated from the rest of the completeassembly and connects only through the rigid longitudinal support member22 to the rear end 22R thereof and the electrical connection means 23which is adapted to be connected to the hot wire or lead of aconventional internal combustion engine ignition system.

It will be noted that, in the exemplary first form illustrated, saidenclosing envelope means 11 is additionally provided with effectivebiasing cantilever spring means 29, which is also carried by theclamping means 18 of the mounting bracket means 12 and normally forciblycooperates with the right side portion of the front end part 11F of thelongitudinal enclosing envelope means 11 in a manner resiliently forcingsame toward the left so as to relatively move said front end portion 11Fof the enclosing envelope means 11 with respect to the fixed contactmember 27 whereby to bring about the normally closed relationship andelectrical engagement of said first and second electrical contactmembers 26 and 27. However, when the conventional distributor cam 28 isrotated during operation of an associated internal combustion engine(not shown), the multiple points or lobes thereof, as indicated at 28L,will forcibly ride against a cam follower means, such as is generallydesignated at 31, which will forcibly deflect the complete front end 11Fof the cantilever enclosing envelope means 11 toward the right or in aclockwise direction around an effective pivot point which may be said tobe located substantially at the point indicated by the reference numeral32 in FIGS. 2 and 3 in a manner such as to relatively move the firstelectrical contact member 26 away from the fixed position secondelectrical contact member 27 into the open relationship shown in FIG. 3.This action will occur repetitively and very rapidly during theoperation of an internal combustion engine, and between each suchopening of the first and second electrical contact members 26 and 27,they will automatically close under the resilient biasing action of thereturn biasing spring means 29.

Incidentally, it should be noted that the effective pivot or hinge pointindicated at 32 is effectively caused by the provision of the resilientflexible convolutions 33 (which may comprise one or more convolutions asdesired or needed) which increase the compliance or reduce the stiffnessof tthe complete longitudinal cantilever-type enclosing envelope means11 so as to effectively produce what might be called resilient flexibleconvoluted hinge or pivot means effectively operable about the pivotpoint 32.

Also, it should be noted that, in the exemplary first form of theinvention illustrated, the cam follower means 31 comprises a roller 34rotatably mounted on a vertical shaft 35 which is rigidly fastened tothe corresponding side wall portion 118 of the longitudinal enclosingenvelope means 11, said fastening points being indicated by thereference numeral 36 and comprising welding, brazing, soldering, or anyother suitable rigid fastening means.

In the exemplary first form of said cam follower means 31, the rollermeans 34 thereof may be of hard wear-resistant, electrically conductive,metallic material since it is in contact with the enclosing envelopemeans 11 which is grounded and, therefore, it need not be made of anelectrical insulating material, which is frequently not as wearresisting, as is the case with conventional prior art distributor pointassemblies.

An extremely important feature of the present invention is the fact thatthe hollow interior chamber 24 defined within the longitudinalcantilever type enclosing envelope means 11 is provided with asubstantially non-oxidizing or inert gaseous atmosphere therein which,therefore, completely covers and surrounds said first and secondelectrical contact members 26 and 27 and completely prevents oxidationthereof and also contamination thereof by exterior foreign matter, suchas oil, grease, or the like-this being the feature of the presentinvention which brings about the extended life of the electrical contactmeans comprising, in the example illustrated, said first and secondelectrical contact members 26 and 27.

It will be noted that the apparatus of the present invention provides avery convenient arrangement for placing the above-mentionednon-oxidizing inert gaseous atmosphere in the hollow interior of theenclosing envelope means 11, as indicated at 24, since the rigidlongitudinal support member 22 comprises a hollow tube having an openforward end 37 and having its previously mentioned rear end 22Rinitially open, as indicated at 38 in FIG. 6, thus providing aconvenient means for evacuating the interior 24 of the enclosingenvelope means 11 and then introducing a non-oxidizing or inert gasthereinto, after which said opening 38 in said rear end 22R iseffectively closed or provided with a closure seal, such as is indicatedat 39 in FIG. 5.

It should be noted that the non-oxidizing or inert gaseous atmospherereferred to above may comprise any of the so-called inert gases such asargon, krypton, neon, xenon, or various other non-oxidizing gases, or,in certain cases, may merely comprise ordinary air at greatly reducedpressure-in other words, a substantial vacuum.

FIG. 8 illustrates a very slight modification of the cam follower means31 of the first form of the invention and, because of its similarity,similar parts are indicated by similar reference numerals, followed bythe letter, a,

however. In this modification, it will be noted that the cam followermeans 31a is not of the rotatable type illustrated in the first form ofthe invention, but comprises a non-rotatively mounted wear-resistantcontact surface means 34a which may be of electrically conductive metalor extremely hard wear-resistant plastic material, if desired, adaptedfor sliding cam-following abutment with respect to the rotarydistributor cam means 28.

FIG. 9 illustrates a further slight modification of a portion of theinvention and, because of the similarities thereof, similar referencenumerals, followed by the letter, [2, however, designate similar partsthereof. In this modification, it will be noted that the outer end 11112 of the enclosing envelope means 111; is not provided with a closurecap of the type illustrated at 19 in the first form of the invention,but is formed in sealed relationship.

FIG. illustrates a further slight modification of the invention from thefirst form illustrated and described in detail hereinbefore and, becauseof the similarities thereto, similar reference numerals, followed by theletter, c, however, designate similar parts. In this modification, itwill be noted that the separate or auxiliary biasing return spring means29 is eliminated, and the inherent resiliency and elasticity of the sidewalls 1180 of the enclosing envelope means 11c are relied upon toeffectively comprise a functionally equivalent return biasing springmeans adapted to normally maintain the first and second contact members26c and 27c in electrical engagement with each other. Also, in thismodification, it will be noted that the convolution means 33 of thefirst form of the invention are eliminated, and the cross-sectionalshape of the longitudinal cantilever type enclosing envelope means 110is modified into a substantially elliptical form with the longitudinalaxis thereof lying in a substantially horizontal plane, thus increasingthe inherent stiffness of the longitudinal enclosing envelope means 110and further minimizing the necessity for the auxiliary return biasingspring 29 of the first form of the invention. Incidentally, this mayalso make it possible to reduce the mass of the moving assemblysubstantially, which is highly desirable. It should be noted that theabove description of the FIG. 10 modification of the invention, and theshowing thereof in FIGS. 10 and 11, without convolutions means of thetype shown at 33 in the first form of the invention means that theenvelope means 110 would tend to be substantially stiffer than theenvelope means 11 of the first form of the invention, unless the wallthickness thereof is substantially reduced, which is intended in theshowing thereof in FIGS. 10 and 11, although this is not illustratedaccurately in the cross-sectional view comprising FIG. 11 because anyreduction in the wall thickness of the envelope means 110 in FIG. 11would not be capable of effective reproduction. Therefore, it should beclearly understood that the wall thickness of the envelope 11c in FIG.11 is shown substantially exaggerated by comparison with the wallthickness of the earlier form of the invention shown, for example, inFIGS. 2, 3, and 4. This reduction in Wall thickness of the envelopemeans 110 has certain advantages since it tends to reduce the mass ofthe moving elements and increases the responsiveness of the electricalcontact means comprising the contacts 260 and 27c. However, it should benoted that, in certain versions of this modification of the invention,one or more convolution means of a general type similar to that shown at33 in the first form of the invention may be employed if desired orneeded.

Also, it should be noted that the cam follower means 31 of the firstform of the invention may, in certain cases, be made of a hard,wear-resistant plastic material rather than the hard wear-resistantmetallic material referred to hereinbefore. This my also be true of thealternate cam follower means 31a of FIG. 8 or 310 of FIG. 10, ifdesired.

It will be noted that because of the non-oxidizing and inert gas withinthe envelope and around the first and second contact members, whichprevents any oxidation thereof, it may be possible to not only reducecontact spacings when open, but to minimize contact pressures whenclosed, which tends to further eliminate the necescity for the auxiliaryreturn biasing spring means 29 of the first form of the invention.

It should be understood that the figures and the specific descriptionthereof set forth in this application are for the purpose ofillustrating the present invention and are not to be construed aslimiting the present invention to the precise and detailed specificstructure shown in the figures and specifically described hereinbefore.,Rather, the real invention is intended to include substantiallyequivalent constructions embodying the basic teachings and inventiveconcept of the present invention.

I claim:

1. Extended life electrical contact means, comprising: hollowlongitudinal cantilever enclosing envelope means of resilientelectrically conductivity material provided at a rear end thereof withrigid electrically conductive mounting bracket means flexibly mountingsaid cantilever envelope means in a cantilever manner extendingoutwardly therefrom, said envelope means having a sealed front endlongitudinally spaced from said rear end and capable of beingresiliently arcuately forcibly displaced from an initial rest position;a rigid longitudinal support member of electrically conductive materialextending through the rear end of said envelope means and along thelength thereof to an interior position in a predetermined interiorrelationship with respect to said front end of said envelope means andspaced from and out of contact with inside surfaces of said envelopemeans; a first electrical contact member effectively carried by aninside surface of a side portion of said envelope means and inelectrical engagement therewith; and a second electrical contact memberaligned with, opposed to, and facing said first electrical contactmember and effectively carried by said rigid longitudinal support memberwithin said envelope means and in electrical engagement with respect tosaid rigid longitudinal support member, said first and second electricalcontact members together comprising an effective electrical switch; saidrear end of said envelope means being provided with inner sealing plugmeans effectively closing and sealing same and being made of electricalinsulating material effectively electrically insulating said rigidlongitudinal support member from the rear end of said cantileverenvelope means, an exterior side portion of said envelope means beingprovided with laterally directed cam follower means in engagement with acam for corresponding cantilever deflection of said envelope means withrespect to the non-deflected inner rigid longitudinal support memberwhereby to forcibly cause corresponding relative movement of said firstand second electrical contact members within said sealed envelope meansin an effective switch operating manner, said envelope means defining acompletely sealed interior chamber provided with a substantiallynon-oxidizing gaseous medium therein; said cantilever envelope meansbeing provided with effective resilient flexible convoluted hinge meansadjacent to said rear end and positioned outwardly of the mountingengagement thereof with respect to said mounting bracket member andproviding an effective pivot point, each of said first and secondelectrical con tact members being spaced from said effective pivot pointby a distance substantially equivalent to the corresponding radius ofpivotal rotation of the resiliently movable one of said electricalcontact members.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the rela tive positioningsof said rigid longitudinal support memher and said envelope means aresuch as to normally maintain said first and second'electrical contactmembers in resilient electrical engagement.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said rigid longitudinalsupport member has a rear end extending outside of the rear end of saidcantilever envelope means and provided with electrical connector meansfor connection to a suitable source of electric power.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said mounting bracket meansis in electrical engagement with said rear end of said envelope means,said rigid longitudinal support member having a rear end extendingoutside of the rear end of said cantilever envelope means and providedwith electrical connector means for connection to a suitable source ofelectric power.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said rigid longitudinalsupport member comprises a hollow tube having. an opening positionedwithin said envelope means and having an initially open rear end forproviding said interior chamber within said envelope means with saidsubstantially non-oxidizing gaseous medium and then being provided withclosure seal for subsequently maintaining same.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said en- 'velope means isprovided with effective biasing spring means carried by said mountingbracket means and normally forcibly cooperating with a side portion ofsaid envelope means adjacent to said front end thereof for forciblyresiliently arcuately deflecting said cantilever envelope means in amanner such as to force said first interiorly mounted electrical contactmember carried therewithin into electrical engagement with said secondelectrical contact member carried by said inner rigid longitudinalsupport member.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the front end of saidcantilever envelope means is of initially open tubular constructionprovided with a sealing closure cap positioned thereover after .interioradjustment of said first and second electrical contact members foraligned engaging and disengaging relative movemen thereof.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cam follower meanscomprises a rotatably mounted frictionminimizing roller means mountedfor rotation in response to forcible rotary abutment therewith of saidcam.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cam follower meanscomprises a projection having a wear resistant contact surface adaptedfor sliding cam following abutment with respect to said cam duringforcible contact therewith.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said mounting bracket meansis of a size and shape such, and is provided with attachment meanspositioned such, as to be adapted for direct attachment to thepre-existing engagement portions of a conventional internal combustionengine distributor, with said cam follower means positioned at theproper location for engagement with and operation by said cam, whichtakes the form of a conventional multi-lobed internal combustion enginedistributor cam.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the relative positioningsof said rigid longitudinal support member and said envelope means aresuch as to normally maintain said first and second electrical contactmembers in electrically disengaged relationship.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said envelope means isprovided with effective biasing spring means carried by said mountingbracket means and normally forcibly cooperating with a side portion ofsaid envelope means adjacent to said front end thereof for forciblyresiliently arcuately deflecting said cantilever envelope means in amanner such as to force said first interiorly mounted electrical contactmember carried therewithin .into electrically disengaged relationshipwith respect to said second electrical contact member carried by saidinner rigid longitudinal support member.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cam follower meanscomprises an effectively electrically grounded rotatably mountedfriction-minimizing roller means mounted for rotation in response toforcible rotary abutment therewith of said cam.

14. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cam follower meanscomprises an effectively electrically grounded projection having a wearresistant contact surface adapted for sliding cam following abutmentwith respect to said cam during forcible contact therewith.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 580,987 4/1897Moore 200 19 2,039,647 5/1936 House 20032 X BERNARD A. GILHEANY, PrimaryExaminer. G. MAIER, Assistant Examiner.

1. EXTENDED LIFE ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEANS, COMPRISING: HOLLOWLONGITUDINAL CANTILEVER ENCLOSING ENVELOPE MEANS OF RESILIENTELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVITY MATERIAL PROVIDED AT A REAR END THEREOF WITHRIGID ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE MOUNTING BRACKET MEANS FLEXIBLY MOUNTINGSAID CANTILEVER ENVELOPE MEANS IN A CANTILEVER MANNER EXTENDINGOUTWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID ENVELOPE MEANS HAVING A SEALED FRONT ENDLONGITUDINALLY SPACED FROM SAID REAR END AND CAPABLE OF BEINGRESILIENTLY ARCUATELY FORCIBLY DISPLACED FROM AN INITIAL REST POSITION;A RIGID LONGITUDINAL SUPPORT MEMBER OF ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE MATERIALEXTENDING THROUGH THE REAR END OF SAID ENVELOPE MEANS AND ALONG THELENGTH THEREOF TO AN INTERIOR POSITION IN A PREDETERMINED INTERIORRELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO SAID FRONT END OF SAID ENVELOPE EMANS ANDSPACED FROM AND OUT OF CONTACT WITH INSIDE SURFACES OF SAID ENVELOPEMEANS; A FIRST ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBER EFFECTIVELY CARRIED BY ANINSIDE SURFACE OF A SIDE PORTION OF SAID ENVELOPE MEANS AN IN ELECTRICALENGAGEMENT THEREWITH; AND A SECOND ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBER ALIGNEDWITH, OPPOSED TO, AND FACING SAID FIRST ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBER ANDEFFECTIVELY CARRIED BY SAID RIGID LONGITUDINAL SUPPORT MEMBER WITHINSAID ENVELOPE MEANS AND IN ELECTRICAL ENGAGEMENT WITH RESPECT TO SAIDRIGID LONGITUDINAL SUPPORT MEMBER, SAID FIRST AND SECOND ELECTRICALCONTACT MEMBERS TOGETHER COMPRISING AN EFFECTIVE ELECTRICAL SWITCH; SAIDREAR END OF SAID ENVELOPE MEANS BEING PROVIDED WITH INNER SEALING PLUGMEANS EFFECTIVELY CLOSING AND SEALING SAME AND BEING MADE OF ELECTRICALINSULATING MATERIAL EFFECTIVELY ELECTRICALLY INSULATING SAID RIGIDLONGITUDINAL SUPPORT MEMBER FROM THE REAR END OF SAID CANTILEVERENVELOPE MEANS, AN EXTERIOR SIDE PORTION OF SAID ENVELOPE MEANS BEINGPROVIDED WITH LATERALLY DIRECTED CAM FOLLOWER MEANS IN ENGAGEMENT WITH ACAM FOR CORRESPONDING CANTILEVER DEFLECTION OF SAID ENVELOPE MEANS WITHRESPECT TO THE NON-DEFLECTED INNER RIGID LONGITUDINAL SUPPORT MEMBERWHEREBY TO FORCIBLY CAUSE CORRESPONDING RELATIVE MOVEMENT OF SAID FIRSTAND SECOND ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBERS WITHIN SAID SEALED ENVELOPE MEANSIN AN EFFECTIVE SWITCH OPERATING MANNER, SAID ENVELOPE MEANS DEFINING ACOMPLETELY SEALED INTERIOR CHAMBER PROVIDED WITH A SUBSTANTIALLYNON-OXIDIZING GASEOUS MEDIUM THEREIN; SAID CANTILEVER ENVELOPE MEANSBEING PROVIDED WITH EFFECTIVE RESILIENT FLEXIBLE CONVOLUTED HINGE MEANSADJACENT TO SAID REAR END AND POSITIONED OUTEARDLY OF THE MOUNTINGENGAGEMENT THEREOF WITH RESPECT TO SAID MOUNTING BRACKET MEMBER ANDPROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE PIVOT POINT, EACH OF SAID FIRST AND SECONDELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBERS BEING SPACED FROM SAID EFFECTIVE PIVOT POINTBY A DISTANCE SUBSTANTIALLY EQUIVALENT TO THE CORRESPONDING RADIUS OFPIVOTAL ROTATION OF THE RESILIENTLY MOVABLE ONE OF SAID ELECTRICALCONTACT MEMBERS.